I grew up with cable news on. All the time.
My dad played Fox News in the background of pretty much every memory I have of our living room. Sometimes CNN. Sometimes on mute. But something was always on.
I didn't realize it at the time, but it was crafting my brain to view the world as a divided hostile place full of people I should be angry at.
As a kid I couldn't put it into words. I just felt it.
I went on to get a degree in political science - I thought maybe I'd follow my dad's nudge and go into politics. But somewhere along the way I had this quiet realization that changed my entire belief system:
Real change in this country isn't voted on. It's bought.
So I pivoted.
I received my undergrad in political science and left any interest or future of that at UAA.
Instead, I helped build a start-up (AlumaSki, incase any of you remember), flipped some homes and was a general contractor for a bit. That evolved into a career in mortgage lending (#1 in Alaska) and real estate investing. I bought some assets which gave me control over my life. Now, I help others buy back their time with passive income > monthly expenses.
For years after that, I just tuned out anything news related. No news apps on my phone. No push notifications. No morning ritual of doom-scrolling headlines. If something big happened, someone would tell me. That was my system and it kept me happy.
Then, I became a dad.
And suddenly the things I'd been ignoring started showing up at my doorstep. Schools closing. Costs climbing. Whole neighborhoods shifting. Emergency response times getting longer. Free events for my kids that I had no idea were happening because I wasn't plugged in.
Stuff that directly affected my boys' future was happening all around me, and I was finding out too late or not at all.
I thought - how many other parents are doing exactly what I was doing? Stuck in the same routine. Work, kids, home, repeat. Too buried in the day-to-day to notice the ground is shifting under their feet.
Not because they don't care, but because the traditional news machine never felt built for them in the first place. It felt built for clicks and outrage and division. The same machine I tuned out of years ago.
Then I looked at where my attention actually goes. It's not the evening news. It's not the paper. It's the social feed.
We're scrolling anyway. So what if the news met us where we already are?
That’s what The Daily Alaska intends to do. Short, punchy, real updates that just tell you what's happening in your community and how it affects you.
No BS, No fearmongering. No "breaking news" alerts stuff that isn’t building you forward.
I’m just a dad, with a phone, recording videos. No agenda except making sure you don't miss the things that change your day-to-day.
If you've been watching, thank you. Truly. The fact that this thing is growing means people are hungry for community news that actually feels like community.
If you see me about, feel free to say hi. Warning: If I'm with my kids, good chance I am overstimulated by little humans so anything could happen.
-Slav
p.s.